Kim, Former Senior Administrative Officer and Acting Secretary at the Presidential Office
Appointed Standing Auditor of Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corporation in August
Both Parties Deny Any Connection
Pro-Park Faction Pressures with "Improper Conduct" and "Reveal the Backers" Demands
Ahead of the July 23 party convention, a recording of Kim Dae-nam, former Deputy Secretary for Citizen Communication at the Presidential Office (currently a full-time auditor at SGI Seoul Guarantee Insurance), instructing a left-wing YouTuber to attack Han Dong-hoon, then a leading candidate for the People Power Party leadership, has been released. This has become a new flashpoint in the already tense conflict between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Han, which was simmering due to controversies over First Lady Kim Gun-hee’s apology and private meetings. Although the Presidential Office denies any relationship between Auditor Kim and First Lady Kim, pro-Yoon factions are demanding daily that the forces behind Auditor Kim be revealed.
On the 2nd, Han Ji-ah, the chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, stated in a press release, "It is a clear and serious misconduct and crime for a member of a conservative party to collaborate with a left-wing YouTuber and instigate attacks based on false information against a politician from their own party." She added, "The party will investigate the truth through necessary procedures and hold those responsible strictly accountable based on the findings."
According to the recording, Auditor Kim told the Seoul Voice YouTuber during a call, "First Lady Kim Gun-hee is so distressed because of Candidate Han that she wants to die," and "If we plan this well and hit (Han Dong-hoon), the First Lady will be pleased." He claimed that Han had used party membership fees intended for the April 10 general election opinion polls to conduct his own presidential recognition survey, calling it "embezzlement in corporate terms."
Auditor Kim graduated from Gangneung High School in Gangwon and Yonsei University, worked in the construction industry, and joined Yoon Suk-yeol’s presidential campaign headquarters as the head of the organization department during the last presidential election. He served as a senior administrative officer and acting Secretary for Citizen Communication at the Presidential Office until October last year. During the general election period, he ran as a preliminary candidate for Yongin Gap in Gyeonggi Province but lost the nomination after Lee Won-mo, the Presidential Office’s Personnel Secretary, was strategically nominated. Afterwards, Auditor Kim served as a special advisor for external schedules to Na Kyung-won, a leadership candidate at the party convention, before being appointed as a full-time auditor at Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corporation in August.
Han Dong-hoon reacted on Facebook the previous day, saying, "The person currently serving as an auditor at a government-invested financial institution allegedly directly communicated with a left-wing YouTuber during the last party convention and instructed them to attack me by any means." He added, "I feel ashamed and dismayed thinking about how the public and party members will view this." In response to the controversy, Kim’s legal representative, lawyer Yoo Jeong-hwa, explained, "This happened after he left the Presidential Office," and "He was not in a position to receive instructions to damage a specific party leader candidate."
Individuals known to be close to Auditor Kim have also denied their relationship with him. Shin Ji-ho, the deputy head of organization for the People Power Party, who was identified as having recommended Auditor Kim to Kang Seung-gyu, former Senior Secretary for Civil Society at the Presidential Office (now a People Power Party lawmaker), stated on Channel A’s YouTube, "In 2021, when I was the political affairs director of Yoon Suk-yeol’s presidential campaign, I was recommended by a fan club member of Candidate Yoon who said someone was needed to manage the fan club. That person was Auditor Kim." He added, "As the political affairs director, I connected him to Kang, who was the head of the organization department, and Auditor Kim worked in the campaign’s organization headquarters." Lawmaker Na also stated that she has no connection to the call between Auditor Kim and Seoul Voice. The Presidential Office also claims that Auditor Kim has no acquaintance with President Yoon or First Lady Kim, and there is a cautious atmosphere to prevent the conflict from escalating within the ruling party ahead of the reconsideration of the special investigation law on First Lady Kim Gun-hee.
On the other hand, pro-Yoon figures continue to demand a thorough investigation into who is behind Auditor Kim. In particular, they question the background of Auditor Kim, who has no financial experience, being appointed as a full-time auditor at Seoul Guarantee Insurance Corporation with an annual salary of 300 million won, a private office, a secretary, a corporate card, and an official vehicle.
Park Sang-soo, spokesperson for the People Power Party, criticized Auditor Kim on the same day, saying, "Is it something that can be overlooked just because a person who provided an opportunity by talking with a left-wing YouTuber criticizes the left-wing YouTuber and hopes through a lawyer that it will not burden party-government relations?" Earlier, lawmaker Jin Jong-oh and Supreme Council member Kim Jong-hyeok each posted on Facebook, saying, "Joining hands with forces opposing the regime denies the current government and is a shameless act that hinders re-election," and "Who is behind Kim Dae-nam, who ordered the operation against Han Dong-hoon? It must be clearly revealed through investigation who is behind this and what operations took place." Supreme Council member Kim also said, "Like in movies and novels, the perpetrators of political operations were rewarded. Auditor Kim was appointed as a full-time auditor at Seoul Guarantee Insurance on August 5," and questioned, "Is there a powerful force involved that sent Auditor Kim to a position he chose himself?"
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